By Abiola Olawale
Latest reports emerging on Friday as to why the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC), Dr Abdullahi Ganduje suddenly resigned suggest that President Bola Tinubu may have reportedly propelled the former’s resignation.
The New Diplomat checks reveal that Ganduje’s sudden resignation has to do with the politics of 2027 and President Tinubu’s move to placate the North Central geopolitical zone that are rightly entitled to the position.
Sources say key politicians from the North Central have been miffed at Ganduje’s occupation of the seat of the party’s national chairmanship. To satisfy these interests, sources say, the ex-Kano state governor was asked to step down by the President.
This development is coming shortly after Tinubu visited Lafia, the capital of Nasarawa state, on Thursday.
This latest development saw Ganduje resign from his position as the APC Chairman, citing health reasons.
However, insiders who spoke with the press have also revealed a deeper reason that tends to buttress The New Diplomat’s account.
Sources close to the APC’s National Working Committee disclose that top government officials reportedly applied pressure on Ganduje to resign.
Sources claim the resignation was necessary to resolve mounting discontent from North-Central stakeholders, who have long demanded the chairmanship return to their region.
According to the sources, the North Central should have produced the National Chairman instead of the North West from where Ganduje hails.
An insider said: “Ganduje was forced to resign to allow for the party to revert to its zoning formula.
“The President is insistent that in the countdown to the 2027 elections, the party must enforce all the rules and one of them is the zone that should occupy the seat of the national chairman.
“Ganduje has been told pointedly that he must resign by the President. And he has done just that.”
The insider said this move was a “calculated political compromise,” aimed at stabilizing the party and unifying its ranks as electoral battles loom.
Meanwhile, Ganduje’s exit paves the way for a transitional leadership, with one of the APC’s national vice chairmen expected to step in as acting chairman until the party’s national convention in December 2025.
The New Diplomat gathered that this interim arrangement is seen as a stopgap to appease North-Central agitators while Tinubu consolidates his influence over the party’s direction.
